Ethanol is good but cellulosic ethanol is even better.
The first bit of news has to do with a possible new ethanol alliance between the US and Brazil, who are meeting next week to ostensibly create the "OPEC of ethanol" as the Brazilian press has named the potential alliance.
But an even more important developement is that several biofuel companies have received their research money to develop gasified "syngas;" syngas, after undergoing the pressurized conversion from plant matter to "consisting mostly of carbon monoxide and hydrogen," as the following AP article describes it, can then be converted to a variety of fuels, including hydrogen for fuel-cell engines and ethanol for gas-powered engines.
Here's the gist of this process:
A gasifier turns plant material into a synthesis gas consisting mostly of carbon monoxide and hydrogen. The "syngas" then could be turned into a variety of fuels including ethanol, hydrogen and environmentally friendly versions of diesel or gasoline, Schmidt said.
"These gasifiers are some high-tech stuff with high pressures and some more complexities," he said. "But they're probably more versatile at the end of the day to modify them as the demand and supplies change."
Gasification is a fairly simple process, based on chemistry developed in the 1920s, said Robert Brown, an Iowa State University chemical engineering professor and director of the school's Office of Biorenewables Programs.
The syngas produced during gasification mixes more readily with chemical catalysts, so it could be more easily turned into other fuels, chemicals and materials. Just add steam and you could produce hydrogen to power a fuel-cell vehicle, Brown said.
Of the six companies awarded U.S. Department of Energy grants, three will use versions of fermentation technology. But two others will use gasification and one will use a hybrid of both technologies:
Link.
The article then goes on to list the companies awarded the research money and what particular flavor of syngas they will be creating.
Cellulosic ethanol and ethanol is one of many keys that could allow America to extricate herself from the middle east and to allow her to get over her raging fossil fuel addiction.